Image-based abuse cases increase by 200 per cent during coronavirus lockdown

ESafety Commissioner Julie Inman Grant says her office has seen a 200 per cent increase in image-based abuse cases since the beginning of the coronavirus lockdown. Ms Grant said image-based abuse – the sharing of intimate photos or videos without consent – was “a devastating experience” for its victims – 70 per cent of whom were women. She said the 200 per cent increase in cases, while devastating, “makes sense because more people are seeking intimacy through digital means” during lockdown. Ms Grant said technology-facilitated abuse was an extension of domestic and family violence, adding in some cases “we’ve got women and children trapped with their captors”. Ms Grant urged anyone who believed they were a victim of image-based abuse to contact the eSafety commission. “We have a 90 per cent success rate at getting content removed from the internet, that’s a very high success rate,” she said. “And that’s often what victims want, they just want the content taken down.” Ms Grant said fines and criminal provisions were also on the table for offenders, and the office would work together with victims to pursue those options should the victim want to. Image: Getty

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